Air conditioning apparatus



Oct. 3 N. LAING 3,404,539

AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed April 10, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Nikolaus Loing -BY M,

ATTORNEYS Oct. 8, LAlNG AIR CONDITIONING. APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 10, 1967 INVENTOIR Nikolaus Luing BY /W,M 1 w? 17/5W 2 MM ATTORNEYS Oct 8, 1968 N. LAING 3,404,539

AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed April 10, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet a FIG. 5

INVENTOR Nikolaus Loin BYjm s i w 76 $41M ATTORNEYS Oct. 8, 1968 N. LAING 3,404,539

AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed April 10, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Nikolaus Loin ATTORNEYS United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Air conditioning apparatus having a condenser portion and evaporator portion with a section of the apparatus adapted to be inserted into a room opening whereby the condenser portion will be completely exterior of the room. The condenser portion and evaporator portion enclosed by rectangular shaped casings of the same exterior dimensions adapted to be joined together in a variety of configurations.

Cross references to related applications This application is a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No. 512,386 filed Dec. 8, 1965, now Patent No. 3,313,122 which is itself a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 477,756 filed Aug. 6, 1965, now Patent No. 3,279,209, which was a division of application Ser. No. 360,053 filed Apr. 15, 1964, now Patent No.

3,200,609 which was a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 132,757 filed Aug. 21, 1961, now abandoned.

Summary of invention This invention relates to air conditioning apparatus and V specifically to a room air conditioning unit adapted to have a section inserted into a room opening of limited cross sectional area, and wherein the condenser portion of the apparatus, including the compressor, will be situated exteriorly of the room in order to reduce noise. Further, this invention relates to an air conditioning apparatus which has the condenser portion and evaporator portion enclosed by rectangular shaped casings which have substantially the same over-all exterior dimensions and which may be joined together in a variety of configurations so that the apparatus may be fitted into room open ings having a variety of configurations.

A problem existing with conventional room air conditioning units is that they require comparatively large openings into which they may be fitted, the openings being either in the wall of a room or in a window frame. Air conditioning units as received from the manufacturer are usually of a fixed size and configuration so that the opening in the wall or window must be fitted to the unit rather than the unit being fitted to the opening. Further,

many air conditioning units as received from the manufacturer require large openings into which the complete unit is fitted or into which at least the complete evaporator portion is fitted. The evaporator portions of many conventional air conditioning units are of large cross sectional area as they usually contain a heat exchanger and a relatively large fan in order that air from the room interior may be forced over the heat exchanger.

It is an object of my invention to provide for an air conditioning unit which may be inserted int-o a room opening of limited cross sectional area and in which the evaporator portion of the unit will have a limited cross sectional area. It is a further object of the invention to provide for a structure in which the evaporator portion and condenser portion may be readily joined to each other in a variety of configurations so that the unit may be used wtih a variety of room openings such as openings formed by vertically opening windows or horizontally opening windows. It is a still further object of the invention to provide for an air conditioning unit wherein the heat exchanger of the condenser may be of a relatively large size and of a size larger than the room opening. A still further object of the invention is to provide a drive for cross flow blowers used with the unit whereby the width of the blower and drive means associated with the blower may be kept to a minimum in order to reduce the overall exterior dimensions of the air conditioning unit.

Broadly my invention comprises having an air conditioning unit having a section which fits into a room opening of limited cross sectional are-a. The unit comprises an evaporator portion and a condenser portion each having air inlets and air outlets, ducting connecting the inlets with the outlets, a rectangular shaped. heat exchanger in each ducting, and a cross flow blower in each ducting extending parallel with an edge of the heat exchanger in the ducting and substantially over the width thereof to move air from the inlet over the heat exchanger and to the outlet of each duct. The condenser portion, including the compressor, is adjoined to the evaporator portion so that it is exterior of the room in order to reduce noise level.

A further embodiment of the invention provides for a rectangular shaped casing to enclose both the evaporator portion and condenser portion where the casings have substantially the same overall exterior dimensions and wherein means are provided for adjoining various walls of the casings in a variety of configurations.

A still further embodiment of the invention has a drive pulley connected with an end of a rotor of a cross fiow blower where the pulley is driven by a belt connected to a motor. The motor is positioned with respect to the rotor so that it lies between planes enclosing the ends of the rotor such that the overall width of the rotor and its drive means is substantially the same as that of the rot-or alone.

Description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a cross sectional view of an air conditioning unit constructed according to the invention positioned in a room opening formed by a vertically opening window;

FIGURE 2 is a partial broken sectional view of FIG- URE 1 taken alonglines 2-2;

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view of a further embodiment of an air conditioning unit constructed accord ing to the invention shown positioned in a room opening formed by a vertically opening window;

FIGURE 4 is a partial broken cross sectional View of FIGURE 3 taken along lines 4-4;

FIGURE 5 is a partial sectional view of the condenser portion of the FIGURE 3 unit taken along lines 55;

FIGURE 6 is a cross sectional view of FIGURE 5 taken along lines 6-6;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a unit having evaporator and condenser portions similar to those of the unit illustrated in FIGURE 3 joined together for insertion in an opening in a relatively thick wall;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a unit having evaporator and condenser portions similar to those shown in FIGURE 3 joined together for placement in a room opening situated near a corner of a building;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view with the evaporator and condenser portions of FIGURE 3 arranged generally similar to those shown in FIGURE 8 but for use with an opening near the corner of a building having a relatively thick wall;

FIGURE is" a perspec tive view of condenser and evaporator portions similar to those showrrinFIGURE? arranged to fit on a wall having openings therethrough only for the fluid conduits connecting the heat exchanger of the evaporator portion with the'compressor and for the control wiring; 1 Y

FIGURE 11 is a perspective view illustrating placement of evaporator and condenser portions'similar to those shown in FIGURE 3 in an opening of maximum cross sectional area;

FIGURE 12'is a perspective view illustrating the placement of the unit shown in FIGURE 3 in an opening formed by a horizontally opening window; and

FIGURE 13 is a perspective 'view illustrating the unit of FIGURE 7 placed in an opening formed by a vertically opening window.

Detailed description of the invention Referring to FIGURE 1, there is illustrated an air conditioning unit 1 having an evaporator portion 2 and a condenser portion 3 which extends through a wall opening 4 of limited cross section formed by a vertically opening window 5.

v The evaporator portion 2 of the unit comprises a casing 6 which has at one end thereof an air inlet 7 and an air outlet 8 over which a grill 9 is mounted. Ducting formed by a wall 10, a dividing wall 11, side walls, and parts of the top and bottom walls of the casing joins the inlet 7 with the outlet 8. A cross flow blower 12 is positioned in the ducting and at an end of portion 2 opposite from the inlet and outlet in order to move air from the inlet through the ducting to the outlet. A rectangular shaped heat exchanger 13 is positioned in the inlet part of the duct and a further rectangular shaped heat exchanger 14 is positioned in the outlet part of the duct.

The cross flow blower 12 comprises a cylindrical rotor 16 which is mounted in journals 17 and 18 carried on the side walls 19 and 20 of the ducting as shown. in FIGURE 2. Portion 11A of the dividing wall 11 acts as a vortex forming and stabilizing means which when the rotor is rotated forms a fluid vortex which guides air through an inlet portion 21 of the rotor through the path of the rotating blades and thence out through an outlet portion 22 of the rotor.

The condenser portion 3 of the unit comprises an extension of the casing 6 in which in one side thereof there air from the inlet to the outlet and over the heat exchanger 35. The cross flow blower 36 has cooperating therewith a vortex stabilizing and wall portion 34A which forms a vortex similar to that formed by wall 11A in the evaporator portion when the rotor is rotated. As shown in FIGURE 2, rotor 37 is mounted in journals 38 and 39 carried by the ducting side wall 40 and wall 20.

Rotors 22 and 37 have drive pulleys and 51 mounted on their ends which are connected by means of a drive belt 52 with a drive motor 53. Drive motor 53 is mounted on a bracket 54 to pivot about a point 55. By moving bracket 54 about the pivot point 55, tension in the drive pulley 52 may be regulated.

As illustrated in FIGURE 2, motor 53 is positioned between planes which extend through the ends of the rotors 22 and 37. This results in a more compact construction as the casing does not have to be extended to accommodate the motor as would be the case if the motor were connected directly to the end of the rotor.

The condenser portion 3 also includes a compressor 60.

Conventional fluid conduits (not shown) connected the heat exchangers with the compressor.

The rotor 16 extends substantially over the complete width of the heat exchangers 13 and 14 while the rotor 37 extends over the width of the heat exchanger 35. This assures that airflow over the heat exchanger will be substantially constant over their complete length thus increasing efficiency of heat transfer between the air passing over the exchanger and therefrigerant flowing in the exchanger.

The condenser portion 3, as shown in FIGURE 1, is so positioned with respect to the evaporator portion 2 that it is completely exterior of the room. This results in a unit wherein the heat exchanger in the condenser portion may be made larger than the wall opening which is an important feature since the heat exchanger associated with the condenser usually must be of larger size than the heat exchanger associated with the evaporator. Further, this positioning of the condenser portion allows the parts of the apparatus which generate the maximum noise, i.e. the compressor and motor driving the rotor, to be located exteriorly of the room.

A further embodiment of my invention is illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4. There, the unit as shown, comprises an evaporator portion 81 and a condenser portion 82 where the unit has a section extending through a wall opening formed by a vertically opening window W.

The evaporator portion 81 comprises a rectangular shaped casing 83 having an upper side wall 84, a lower side wall 85, side walls 86 and 87 joining walls 84 and and a rear end wall 88. One end of the casing provides an air inlet 89 and an air outlet 90 over which a grill 91 extends. Air inlet 89 may also extend through the bottom wall 85 in order to increase its effective area. A duct formed in part by dividing wall 92, wall 93 and side walls 84, 85 of the casing connects the inlet with the outlet. The duct further is formed by walls 94 and 95 contained within the casing. A cross flow blower 96 having a rotor 96' is positioned in the duct and is mounted for rotation with journals 97 and 98 as shown in FIG- URE 4. Heat exchanger 99 is positioned in the outlet part of the duct while a filter 100 is positioned in the inlet part of the duct. A heating element 101 may also be positioned in the outlet part of the duct in order that the air conditioning unit may be used as a heater.

A flap 102 is mounted on the in-take side of the rotor 96 in the side wall 95 of the duct. When this flap is open, the in-take side of the blower is connected to passage 103 which connects to the exterior of the unit through opening 104 so that fresh air may be drawn through the opening 104 through rotor 96 and thence into the room through outlet 90. Drive motor 105 is mounted in the passage and is connected directly to rotor 96.

The condenser portion 82 of the unit comprises a rectangular shaped casing having a rear wall 111, side walls 112 and 113, a top side wall 114 and bottom side wall 115. An air inlet 116 is provided on the front part of the casing as well as an air outlet 118. Ducting is formed by the dividing wall 119, wall 120, the back wall 111 of the casing as well as wall 113 to connect the inlet with the outlet. A heat exchanger 121 extends 'sub stantially over the complete width of the condenser portion, and as seen by reference to FIGURE 3, has a greater cross sectional area than the heat exchanger 99 of the evaporator portion of the unit.

A cross flow blower 123 having a rotor 123 is included in the ducting to cooperate with the wall and dividing wall 119 so that air may be drawn through the inlet, through the rotor and thence to the outletand over the heat exchanger 121 in the manner as previously explained with reference to the blower in FIGURE 1. Rotor 124- has a drive pulley 125 mounted on the end thereof connected by a drive belt 126 to a motor 127 which is positioned in the outlet part of the duct connecting the inlet with the outlet. A compressor 128 is positioned below I the outlet part of the duct further assures compactness of the unit and allows the'use 'of a heat exchanger'in the condenser portion which may extend across the complete Width of the condenser portion. Further, the motor 127 is positioned between the planes encompassing the ends of the rotor 124' further assuring compactness of the'unit in the same manner as in the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1.

Conventional refrigerant conduits (not shown) connect the heat exchangers in both the evaporator and the condenser portions with the compressor.

The overall exterior dimensions of the casing enclosing the evaporator portion and the condenser portion are substantially the same. This minimizes expense of tooling in the manufacture of the units while also providing a variety of structural configurations that the complete unit may take. By making the evaporator unit and condenser unit in separate sections, as shown in FIGURE 3, the sections may be joined in a variety of ways so that the unit may be used in room openings having a variety of sizes The only changes that need be made to the structure of the evaporator and condenser portions is to provide rerouting of the conduits joining the compressor with the heat exchangers and re-routing of the electrical wiring for the motors and controls for the motors.

Various combinations of the condenser and evaporator portions making an air conditioning unit according to the invention are illustrated in FIGURES 7-13 and the manner in which the resulting unit may be inserted in various shaped openings. In FIGURE 7, for example, the evaporator portion 81 is shown joined with the condenser portion 82 such that the side wall 88 of the evaporator portion is adjoined with the back wall 111 of the condenser portion. This construction is particularly adaptable for use where the room opening is through a comparativelythick wall and where the vertical portion of the opening is limited.

FIGURE 8 illustrates a combination of the evaporator portion 81 with the condenser portion 82 adaptable for use in a corner of a building where the room opening is of limited width, as for example might be provided by a horizontally opening window. In this instance, the wall 85 of the evaporator portion is joined with the wall 112 of the condenser portion.

The combination shown in FIGURE 9 of the evaporator portion 81 and the condenser portion 82 is for use where the wall opening is spaced a further distance from the corner of the building. In this configuration, the wall 87 of the evaporator portion is joined with wall 111 of the condenser portion.

FIGURE 10 illustrates a combination of the evaporator portion 81 and condenser portion 82 where the only connection between the two portions is by means of the electrical wiring and refrigerant conduits connecting the heat exchanger of the evaporator portion with the compressor contained in the condenser portion This construction would be advantageous where extremely thick walls are encountered or where it is desired to make the smallest possible opening in the wall.

FIGURE 11 illustrates a combination of the evaporator portion 81 and the condenser portion 82 where the two portions are joined back-to-back. This construction would be desirable where the room opening is of maximum cross sectional area.

FIGURE 12 illustrates a combination of the evaporator portion 81 and the condenser portion 82 adapted for use in a window having a horizontally opening movement. The two portions are joined as shown in FIGURE 3 but with the complete unit turned 90.

FIGURE 13 illustrates the manner in which the unit of FIGURE 7 might be advantageously placed in a window frame where the window opens with a vertical movement. This illustration further shows the advantage in havingthe portions adapted to be connected together in a "variety of ways which then allows the use of a maximum size heat exchanger with the condenser portion while not interfering with the view from the interior of the room.

I claim:

1. An air conditioning unit a section of which is adapted for insertion into a room opening of limited cross section, said unit having an evaporator portion and a condenser portion; said evaporator portion in turn having adjacent one end thereof a room air inlet and a room air outlet, ducting in said evaporator portion connecting said room air inlet with said room air outlet, a rectangular heat exchanger in said ducting, and a cross flow blower including a rotor in said ducting extending parallel with a side of said evaporator heat exchanger and substantially over the length thereof and positioned near the end of said portion opposite said air inlet and air outlet; and said condenser portion in turn having an exterior air inlet and exterior air outlet, ducting connecting said exterior air inlet with said exterior air outlet, a rectangular shaped heat exchanger in said ducting, a cross flow blower including a rotor in said ducting extending parallel with a side of said heat exchanger and substantially over the length thereof; the improvement which comprises having a part of the heat exchanger of said evaporator portion in said section adapted to be inserted in said opening, and said evaporator portion being joined to said condenser portion to position said condenser portion substantially exteriorly of the room and wherein each said evaporator portion and said condenser portion is enclosed by a rectangular shaped casing where each casing has substantially the same exterior dimension whereby the casing surrounding the evaporator portion may be adjoined to the casing surrounding the condenser portion in varying configurations such that said unit may be inserted into room openings having varying configurations.

2. An air conditioning unit of inverted L-shaped cross section having a horizontally extending leg adapted to be inserted into a window opening and a. vertically depending leg adapted to be positioned along an exterior wall of a room; an evaporator portion in said horizontally extending leg and a condenser portion in said vertically depending leg; said evaporator portion in turn having adjacent one end thereof a room air inlet and a room air outlet, ducting in said evaporator portion connecting said room air inlet with said room air outlet, a rectangularly shaped heat exchanger in said ducting inclined with respect to the horizontally extending leg in which it is situated, and a cross flow blower including a rotor in said ducting extending parallel with the side of said evaporator heat exchanger and substantially over the length thereof; and said condenser portion in turn having an exterior air inlet and exterior air outlet positioned on the side of said vertically depending leg opposite said horizontally extending leg, ducting connecting said exterior air inlet with said exterior air outlet, a vertically extending rectangular shaped heat exchanger in said ducting and extending over a major part of the side of the vertical leg having the exterior air inlet and air outlet therein, and a blower in said condenser portion; the vertical leg and condenser portion therein extending below said horizontal leg and evaporator portion therein when said horizontal leg is inserted into a window opening whereby the vertical height of the window opening necessary to accommodate the unit and interference with the window by the unit is minimized.

3. An air conditioning unit according to claim 1 wherein a side wall of the casing enclosing the evaporator portion and extending parallel to the rotor in said evaporator portion adjoins with an end wall of the casing enclosing said condenser portion and which extends parallel to an end of the rotor in said condenser portion and wherein said condenser portion is positioned to one side of said evaporator portion.

-4. An air conditioning unit according to claim 1 wherein an end wall ofthe casing enclosing said evaporator portion onthe end opposite said room air inlet and outlet is joined with the back wall of thecasing-enclosin-g the condenser portion and opposite said exterior air inlet and exterior air outlet; the rotor in said evaporator portion extending 90 with respect to the rotor in said, condenser portion. t

- 5. An air conditioning ,unit according to claim 1 wherein a side wall of the casing enclosing saidcondenser portion extending parallel with respect to the rotor therein is adjoined with a side wall of the casing enclosing the evaporator portion and wherein the rotors of both said portions are parallel with respect to each other.

6. An air conditioning unit according to claim 1 wherein an end Wall of the casing enclosing said evaporator portion is joined with the back wall of the casing enclosing said condenser portion and wherein the rotors of both said portions are parallel with respect to each other.

7. An air conditioning unit according to claim 1 wherein a side wall of the casing enclosing said evaporator portion is adjoined with the back wall of the casing enclosing said condenser portion and wherein the rotors of both said portions extend 90 with respect to each other.

8. An air conditioning unit having an evaporator portion and a condenser portion, a casing enclosing each said portion, an air inlet and air outlet in each said porandatleast one said portion having across flow blower including a rotor positioned in the; ductingtherein for ,moying air between an air inlet and, air, outlet and over a heat exchanger; the improvement which comprises having a drivepulley connected to one end of said 010m drive motor and a drive beltconnecting said pulley with said motor; said motor being positioned between planes containingthe two en ds,of said rotor such that'the pulley driving-said rotor may be positionedclosely adjacent the side of said casing to minimize the length of said casing extending parallel to'said. rotor. M

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,391,859 1/1946 Babcock 62-262 2,644,321 7/1953 B orgerd 62263 2,719,410 10/1955 Deering 62-262 2,719,411 10/1955 Deering 62-262 2,723,540 11/1955 Derr 62262 2,924,080 2/1960 Bullock 62-262 2,934,324 471960 Partington 62-263 2,942,773 6/1960 Eck 62'426 3,035,760 v 5/1962 Simmons 230-:125 3,123,987 3/1964 Moore 62263 3,176,474 4/1965 Abbott 62 -262 WILLIAM J. WYE, Primary Examiner. 

